The head of state is a person who defends the interests of the country from within and in the international arena. In each country, the election of the head of state depends on some factors, established traditions, previous experience and the views of the ruling elite.
Forms of government in countries
Regardless of the form of government, the head of state is in all countries. The main task of the head of state is to resolve internal crises and represent the interests of the country at the international level.
The form of the country's leader is determined on the basis of several criteria.
- The head of state in what way transfers power to the next head of state (through inheritance or through elections).
- The degree of obligation of the country's leader to the population.
- Distribution of duties between public authorities.
The main forms of government:
- Monarchy - the power of the head of state belongs to one person for life and is transferred to the heir. The monarch bears no responsibility to the country's population. If the monarchy is absolute, then all decisions are made by the head of the country (UAE, Vatican). In the case of a limited monarchy, there are other authorities acting according to the constitution and reporting to the monarch. A limited monarchy can be represented by a parliamentary, constitutional, dualistic and estate-representative monarchy.
- The republic is a form of power in which the choice of the head of state is vested in the people, the supreme power bears an obligation for its actions to the population of the country. A republic can be a presidential, parliamentary, mixed, and directory.
Forms of government in some countries may be unconventional. For example, a republican monarchy, a monarchical republic, an Islamic republic.
The powers of the head of state
The functions of the head of state largely depend on the form of government in the country and may vary significantly. In some countries, the head of state has minimal functions, in others the head of the country has all power concentrated. But regardless of the form of government, the representative function is performed by all heads of state and is not controlled by other representatives of the government.
Principal powers:
- participation in the adoption of laws;
- creation of normative legal acts;
- the announcement of referenda on constitutional amendments;
- suspension or revocation of government acts;
- activity in foreign policy (sometimes formally);
- the unification of all public authorities, the resolution of contentious issues;
- ceremonial functions (rewarding the citizens of the country with insignia, issuing honorary titles, granting citizenship; apply with a message to the people or parliament;
- solves the country's defense issues; is the supreme commander;
- introduces an emergency in the country.
The president
In the republic, the head of state is the president. In the presidential republic, the rights of the head of state are higher than in the parliamentary one.
In a parliamentary republic, the president does not take part in government affairs. He is mainly engaged in representative affairs, but there are situations when the head of state refers to the opposition of the parliament and has a significant impact on the political development of the country.
In the presidential republic, the powers of the head in the political arena are very significant. He is the sole owner of the executive branch, can radically change the legislative process, solve defense issues and make decisions independently. Sometimes clashes arise between the president and parliament.
Monarchy
The monarch has the right to executive power, but this type of government is used in the absolute monarchy. The monarch makes decisions independently. In a parliamentary monarchy, a country is actually led by a parliament.
The post at the monarchs is inherited, the heir takes over immediately after the death of the previous ruler. There are several types of inheritance systems:
- Austrian - power can be transferred to women, but only if all possible male lines are completely suppressed (not used today);
- salic - power is transferred only to men, sons, as a rule, to the elder;
- Castilian - power can be transferred to daughters in the absence of sons;
- Swedish - men and women have equal inheritance rights;
- Muslim - the choice of the heir remains with the elders, they can choose any relative of the deceased monarch;
- tribal - from the sons of the head the heir is selected, not necessarily it will be the eldest son.
The monarch is an inviolable person and has the right to special treatment.
Elections of the head of state of the republic
Presidential elections can take place in two ways:
- The head of state in the republic is elected by parliament. To elect a chapter, an absolute majority of the votes must be obtained. Most often, such elections are not limited to the first round and the candidates - leaders of the first round move into the second. It is believed that the president elected by officials is "weaker" than the president elected by the people.
- The president is chosen by the country's population. France, Russia, Ukraine chose this method. The conditions for election in each country are different, but according to the constitution of the republic. There may be restrictions on the number of re-election, differences in the term of the president.
- The election of the head of state is conducted by an election commission, its members are vested with the right to vote. Germany, India and several other countries use this method.
- Votes for the chapter are cast by electors. Voters can vote for electors and empower them to choose the head of state. This is the norm in the USA and some other countries.
Who can become the head of state?
In order to become the leader of the republic and declare your candidacy for the elections, you must meet the following requirements:
- Have citizenship of the state. Citizenship may vary, sometimes it takes only 5 years, in some countries from birth.
- Permanent residence in the country. In Russia, this period is at least 10 years. The constitution of other countries may establish a different term.
- Reaching a certain age. In the Russian Federation, they accept applications from citizens over 35 years old.
- Availability is selective. Special conditions without which the president cannot be elected. Higher education is necessary for candidates in Turkey, in Tunisia, belonging to the official religion, in Ukraine knowledge of the national language.
Termination of Presidential Powers
The President relieves his authority at the end of the term of election, resignation on his own initiative, for health reasons, and removal from office. Detention may be in the case of a serious crime or treason.
In the United States, if the president resigns, the country's vice president takes his place. For the remainder of the term, the vice president will act.
